A Marine was killed and four others were injured Monday at Twentynine Palms when an Amphibious Assault Vehicle caught fire, the 1st Marine Division said Wednesday.

Cpl. Nicholas Sell, 21, of Eagle Point, Ore., died in the incident about 11:20 a.m. in the Bullion/Lead Mountain training area of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center.

One Marine was in stable condition at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. The others were treated and released from the base hospital.

Sell, who normally was stationed at Camp Pendleton with 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, was at Twentynine Palms to support the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment during its rotation through the month-long Integrated Training Exercise. Marine battalions preparing to deploy train with infantry, armored vehicles, aircraft and live ammunition during ITX.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Sell was the second Marine killed this year at Twentynine Palms during the combat exercise that replaced Enhanced Mojave Viper. On March 11, Pvt. First Class Casey J. Holmes, 20, of Chico, died in a bulldozer accident.

The assault vehicles, called AmTracs or tracks, are 30-ton seafaring tanks used to transport Marines from ship to shore.

In January 2011, a Marine instructor for the amphibious assault vehicles was trapped and drowned when one sank in the Del Mar boat basin at Camp Pendleton.

Marine officials concluded that the death of Sgt. Wesley J. Rice, 27, of San Antonio, was caused by a mechanical failure on the vehicle, nonstandard training and operating procedures, and a lack of sufficient oversight within the Assault Amphibian Schools Battalion at Camp Pendleton.

The commanding officer of the school and seven other Marines were relieved of duty.

The current model of amphibious troop transport, the AAV-7A1, has been in service since 1972. The Defense Department spent $3 billion on a replacement called the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle before the program was canceled in 2011 because of cost overruns and federal budget cuts.

The Corps planned to refurbish the amphibious vehicles while a cheaper replacement was developed. A request for proposals for the “Amphibious Combat Vehicle” will be issued in 2014, Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, told reporters June 26.

Sell enlisted in the Marines in 2010 and served one tour to Afghanistan. He is survived by his parents, Randy and Kathy, and brothers Jeff and Beau Macy.

His cousin Colleen from Carlsbad told CBSLA.com: “Nick was a selfless and loving person. Everyone called him brother. He was always volunteering to help with anything or be there for anyone.”

An aunt, Becky Sell Carreon Brennan, posted on the Hi-Desert Star Facebook page: “He was just a kid who grew up in southern Oregon, enjoying life with his parents, older brother and half-brother, many, many friends, and he was just starting to figure out life.”

Sell’s military awards include the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. He also was an Eagle Scout.